Professor Henry Welton appeared in several Edison shorts from the beginning of the silent era. He was the owner of two trained boxing cats, and his major film appearance was when Edison himself had Welton bring his cats to the Black Maria studio to perform a routine, for which a kinetoscope film was to be made. Welton himself also appeared in the short also, as the 'referee' who coaches the cats behind the miniature ring as they box. Welton also made an appearance in "Cockfight, No 2" as one of the betting men, and went on to make film appearances in several other Edison films. Still, his career in film was very minor; he remained a small part in filmmaking for this reason.